Morris Helzberg opened the first Helzberg Jewelry store on Minnesota Avenue in Kansas City. It is one of the oldest jewelry chains in America with more than 200 stores across the country. Even though they are a well-known jewelry store, one has to wonder if it pays off to shop there. So, is Helzberg a good choice? You’ll find out below.
The first impression at Helzberg
Helzberg is a typical mall store with sterile and plain interior without some special ambiance or any vibe whatsoever. However, the interior isn’t the worst thing here. The salesperson didn’t know anything so they had to tell their colleague to come over.
The other salesperson was incredibly pushy and made inaccurate statements about diamond cutting and uniqueness of their diamonds. While trying to “talk it up” and make products desirable to potential customers, it is entirely wrong to say false statements.
The diamond Product
It is difficult to determine the type of diamonds jewelry Helzberg pushes the most because they have a two-tiered system. The salesperson showed different diamonds including:
- GSI certified 1.00 I I1 round diamond which cost $6022 including tax
- Helzberg Masterpiece options which included AGS-certified diamonds. One diamond was 0.963ct I VS2 in a white gold solitaire setting which cost $11.498 including taxes, and 1.034ct G SI1 in an 18ct white gold channel setting for $16.425. It is important to mention that Helzberg Masterpiece diamonds are mounted, so you can’t choose your setting or a diamond.
Diamonds were stunning; there is no doubt about that. The question is whether they are worth that much money.
Value
The first diamond, 1.00 I I1 GSI-certified one, had great quality but terrible price. It’s just way too expensive especially if you bear in mind you can find the almost identical ring at James Allen’s website for 42% lower price.
It’s not that difficult to conclude that this particular diamond stone has no value whatsoever and Helzberg probably ran out of ideas at that time, but released this diamond to compete with rivals.
Two diamonds from Masterpiece line were very beautiful but contrary to salesman’s words they had nothing special in them. Don’t take this wrong, they did look great but there was nothing that made them unique as salesperson described.
For comparison’s sake, a diamond with 0.962ct I VS1 from Brian Gavin costs about $6579 while the price of setting is $850. The total cost for the diamond is $7429. This means you can get diamond engagement ring similar to first Helzberg’s masterpiece for 35% lower price.
The situation is almost identical with the second Masterpiece that I was shown. Brian Gavin provides almost identical diamond for $7779, significantly lower price than Helzberg’s by 38%.
One of the major issues of Helzberg’s Masterpiece line is that although diamonds are stunning, they only come already mounted, which isn’t practical for many customers who wanted to add a personal touch to their engagement rings.
Helzberg has stores all over the country which means you are obliged to pay tax. On the other hand, ordering from online-only stores allows you to purchase loose diamond without tax and, thus, save money on your credit card.
In Summary
To sum it up, the first impression in Helzberg store wasn’t that good. Boring interior, one salesperson doesn’t know anything, the other person is too pushy and says false statements. Diamonds are stunning, there’s no question about that, but they are too expensive. In fact, it is entirely possible to purchase equally amazing diamonds online without having to pay too much money. if you have the option to save up to 40% off your purchase, then you should definitely use that opportunity.